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Graduating teachers to be recognized in Inaugural Pinning Ceremony

Graduating teachers to be recognized in Inaugural Pinning Ceremony

Monday, May 8, 2017

New teachers graduating from The University of Texas at Arlington will be welcomed to the profession with a pinning ceremony hosted by the College of Education.

This inaugural pinning ceremony, at 4 p.m. Thursday May 11 at the Bluebonnet Ballroom in UTA’s E.H. Hereford University Center, will provide graduates with a tangible reminder of their connection to UTA and the teaching profession.

College of Education faculty and administrators will present the pin to graduates, signifying both their connection with the University and their new and lasting affiliation and commitment to the teaching profession. Graduates also will recite the Teacher’s Creed, which concludes with the statement “I am a teacher. I change the world one student at a time.”

The ceremony will reinforce the goals and sense of purpose instilled by the professors who have guided students through their academic journey, as well as the philosophy of commitment to education and service to the community espoused by the College of Education and the University itself.

“For our students, the teacher pinning ceremony is the culmination of many years of preparing to become a teacher,” Dr. Teresa Taber Doughty, dean of the College of Education, said. “It lets us send our graduates off to start their careers with an experience that will make them even more proud to join the noble profession of teaching.”

Dr. Harrison McCoy will serve as the keynote speaker for this inaugural ceremony. He is in his 17th year of teaching. Twelve of those years have been for the Arlington Independent School District, where he has taught English at Ferguson Junior High School and ninth-grade Business Education at Arlington Collegiate High School. A 2010 UTA master's of education teaching graduate, McCoy was selected as AISD’s Teacher of the Year in 2015. His wife, Peggy, teaches fifth-grade science at Swift Elementary in Arlington.

About the College of Education

Home to 2,400 students, 40 faculty members, and 25 staff members, the College of Education not only prepares education professionals to lead North Texas in a dynamic and changing environment, but also contributes to the national dialogue surrounding education in the 21st Century. The College has two departments: Curriculum and Instruction, and Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with more than 800 graduates in 2016. Since 2015, UTA’s Graduate Education program has been consistently ranked in the top tier of graduate schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report. The College is currently one of the state’s top producers of outstanding education professionals.

About The University of Texas at Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie Research-1 “highest research activity” institution. With a projected global enrollment of close to 57,000, UTA is one of the largest institutions in the state of Texas. Guided by its Strategic Plan 2020 Bold Solutions|Global Impact, UTA fosters interdisciplinary research and education within four broad themes: health and the human condition, sustainable urban communities, global environmental impact, and data-driven discovery. UTA was recently cited by U.S. News & World Report as having the second lowest average student debt among U.S. universities. U.S. News & World Report lists UTA as having the fifth highest undergraduate diversity index among national universities. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times’ 2017 Best for Vets list.